G20 welcomes India-US pact;hopes it will help WTO negotiations

Welcoming breakthrough between India and the US on the food stock piling issue, G20 leaders on Sunday hoped that it will put WTO negotiations back on track and facilitate the implementation of trade pact which is necessary for driving growth and generating jobs.

Brisbane: Welcoming breakthrough between India and the US on the food stock piling issue, G20 leaders on Sunday hoped that it will put WTO negotiations back on track and facilitate the implementation of trade pact which is necessary for driving growth and generating jobs.

"We welcome the breakthrough between the United States and India that will help the full and prompt implementation of the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) and includes provisions on food security.

"We commit to implement all elements of the Bali package and to swiftly define a WTO work programme on the remaining issues of the Doha Development Agenda to get negotiations back on track," said the communique released after the G20 meet.

Earlier this week India achieved a major breakthrough with the US agreeing to its proposal on food security issues at WTO, a development that will pave the way for ending a three-month long stalemate on Trade Facilitation Agreement at the multi-lateral trade body.

"This will be important to restore trust and confidence in the multilateral trading system. We agreed to discuss ways to make the system work better when we meet next year. We will continue to provide aid-for-trade to developing countries in need of assistance," it added.

The G20 leaders also called for a strong trading system in an open global economy to drive growth and generate jobs.

"We are promoting competition, entrepreneurship and innovation, including by lowering barriers to new business entrants and investment. We reaffirm our longstanding standstill and rollback commitments to resist protectionism," the communique said.

The communique said the G20 will work to ensure that bilateral, regional and plurilateral agreements complement one another to help business make best use of trade agreements.

"A robust and effective WTO that responds to current and future challenges is essential," it said.

The G20 leaders summit was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

As per the agreement with India, the US will support India's proposal at WTO that 'peace clause', crucial for uninterrupted implementation of India's food security programme, should continue indefinitely, until a permanent solution on the issue is found.

This will enable India continue procurement and stocking of food grain for distribution to poor under its food security programme without attracting any kind of action from WTO members even if it breaches the 10 per cent subsidy cap as prescribed by the multilateral trade body.

As per the Bali agreement, the peace clause was to continue till 2017.

The differences on the public stock holding of foodgrains between the developed countries led by the US and developing nations including India led to impasse over ratification of the trade facilitation agreement (TFA) at Geneva in July.

This agreement, which WTO's 160 members failed to reach in July, is crucial to ensuring the organisation's relevance.